


and then we were found

by mamalovesherbagels



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [4]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: because madney and henren under the same roof!, but SOME cuteness ensues, but that story is a quick read so wink wink, but you don't have to read it to understand, chimney and karen are traumatized, everyone's in for a fun side, set in the "missing" universe, so are maddie and hen in a different way, think it all gets summarized well right away
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28037733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamalovesherbagels/pseuds/mamalovesherbagels
Summary: Chimney's coming home, a day after Karen did. They're both out of the hospital after surviving the impossible and the terror of being stranded for three and a half days in a crushed car in the aftermath of a tsunami. Hen and Karen welcome Chimney and Maddie into their home, and the four of them try to begin to heal, emotionally and physically.
Relationships: Henrietta "Hen" Wilson/Karen Wilson, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048141
Kudos: 9





	and then we were found

She sees nothing but relief on her boyfriend’s face as a kind nurse is going over his discharge instructions while another brings a wheelchair into the corner of the room.

It’s a stark contrast to her, who internally is feeling nothing but terror despite the fake smile she is trying to slap onto her face that probably looks more like a grimace.

She knows the facts; it’s not like she’s medically nerve. She was a charge nurse for seven years and she knows that none of Chimney’s injuries are life threatening anymore, he’s no longer dehydrated, and that even though he’s been bullying all the nurses and doctors to let him out since that first day after his rescue when he became more cognizant again, they wouldn’t let him out of the hospital unless it was truly safe for him to go home.

If this was years ago, back when she was running the ER she would have absolutely signed off on this discharge.

But it’s different now, because Chimney is the love of her life and the father of their unborn child and she thought he was dead for almost four days. She thought he was dead, and she’s still not convinced that him being found alive isn’t all some dream she’ll wake up sobbing from and the hospital is so safe and the outside world is unpredictable and cruel.

She was a nurse, she remembers all her training, and they’re moving in with Hen and Karen for a bit and Hen has ample medical training, too. He’ll be fine, and so will Karen who was released from the hospital the day before. She knows this logically and she just wishes more than anything that her feelings would catch up to the facts.

“Easy,” she hums, unable to suppress the eye roll as he eagerly tries to practically shove himself out of the bed and into the wheelchair, because just because he’s no longer needing the hospital doesn’t mean that he doesn’t need to be taking it easy and slow. He’s still injured, he’s still weak and both he and Karen will be recovering for a long while due to both the original injuries and the fact that they went days without treatment.

Bobby’s waiting for them in his car in the hospital parking lot and he has tears of joy and a wide smile on his face the entire car ride home, and she wishes she could match his excitement because that’s probably what she SHOULD be feeling. She should feel happy, she should feel grateful that he’s coming home, she should feel relieved that he’s well enough to no longer need to be in the hospital… and to an extent, she does feel that way, but the anxiety has a nasty way of marring all of that beauty.

She thought he was dead.

This is the first time she’s ever seen the guest room at the Wilson residence, but it must be different than the last time Chimney has seen it because he immediately cracks a smile and laughs.

Then she sees the pictures hung on the wall: photos of Hen and Chimney and then a few of her and Chim.

“You changed the sheets, too,” Chimney says with a chuckle, and Maddie looks down at the blue comforter with little chimneys on it and can’t help but smile the tiniest bit, too.

“Only the finest for my best friend and his pregnant girlfriend,” Hen says, and she’s also smiling but she can see the bags under her eyes and in a sick way, Maddie is grateful that she’s not the only one feeling so tired.

She wonders if Hen is also afraid to sleep because it might all be a dream and when she wakes up, Chimney and Karen will be dead with their bodies still not located. It’s a miracle, and Maddie’s not used to miracles so it’s hard to rationalize this one, and she wonders if Hen is struggling with that, too.

A whimper brings Maddie from out of her own head, and she looks up to fine Karen limping into the room, eyes immediately searching until they find Chimney’s.

“Hi.”

“Hi, Karen,” he says quickly, the same air of desperation to it as Karen’s voice and Maddie bets that her face looks just like the devastated frown on Hen’s.

“Baby,” Hen sighs, biting her lip for a moment, “you’re supposed to be resting. You’re not supposed to be moving around too much and especially not without my help, you know that.”

“Just needed to see Chimney,” Karen explains, letting Hen help her to sit down on the corner of the bed where Chimney is now laying down, and predictably only laying down because her and Hen had forced him to the moment they reached the room.

“Hi, Karen,” Chimney repeats, clumsily reaching out his good hand to try and pat her knee, “miss you. I’m alright.”

“Missed you, too. Guess we really bonded there, huh?”

The joke makes Maddie and Hen flinch, but Chimney just laughs and the smile on his face seems genuine, and Maddie finds herself wondering if this trauma bond is going to last them for life, and if they’re ever going to be able to let go at all.

But maybe she’s getting too far ahead of herself. It’s probably not fair to jump to worst case scenarios about the trauma recovery process when it hasn’t even been a full week since Karen and Chimney were miraculously found alive. They’re traumatized, and so are her and Hen.

But the four of them are all alive, they all have the chance to heal and maybe she should just try and feel grateful for that.

And try she does, but it’s hard. There are so many things she thinks that could go wrong, and sure she’s only about fourteen weeks pregnant and the baby isn’t due for months and months but… are they going to be ready then? After enduring what Chimney’s endured, is he going to feel mentally healthy enough for fatherhood? And after thinking that he was dead for days and preparing herself for reluctant single motherhood, is she going to be too damaged to parent well?

It all feels so cruel, and she knows how lucky she is that Chimney came back to her so she feels like a selfish, ungrateful asshole for being upset, but it just feels so damn unfair that her and Chimney finally got their chance to have a happy family of their own and then this.

Then this incredible, inexplicable trauma.

“Is anyone hungry?” Hen finally asks, breaking the heavy silence.

Chimney shakes his head no, which is just another stark reminder of how off things are now, because Chimney loves food but he hasn’t been able to get his appetite yet. It's a normal stress and trauma response, she’s been assured, and she’s seen it with him to a lesser extent with more everyday anxieties before, but it still causes her head to swirl with worry. However are his injuries going to heal if he’s not eating enough?

“You need to eat, sweet boy,” Hen sighs indignantly, giving him a firm look and well, at least Hen is there to play bad cop to her good cop, “I didn’t get all your favorite foods just for them to sit uneaten in my cupboards.”

“But--”

“Just a little?” she whispers, bringing her hand to her boyfriend’s cheek, “I know you’re not hungry, I know, but… please?”

“Two against one, not fair.”

“Three against one. Hen’s forcing food on me all the time and I am not going to be alone in it,” Karen adds.

“Fine,” Chimney huffs, “still not fair, though.”

“Well get used to it,” Hen says with an eye roll, but the smile on her lips is a fond one, “you’re living with us three girls now. Gotta get used to doing what we say. You’re outnumbered, buddy.”

“...Denny?”

“At school, and also he’s a kid. And even if he counted, you’d still be outnumbered.”

“Damn it.”

“Welcome home, Chimney,” Hen chuckles, “welcome home.”

**Author's Note:**

> wooooooooo i just couldn't let this universe go


End file.
